A versatile GPS/Sounder combo thats hard to beat.
Written: Oct 09 '02 (Updated Oct 09 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Accurate, reliable,easy to use and cost effective.
Cons: Not enough download Map detail space. Garmin's cartography is expensive.
The Bottom Line: Lots of bang for the buck, accurate, reliable and trustworthy. I trust it in my waters, maybe you should too.
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| nursgnt's Full Review: Garmin GPSMAP 168 Sounder GPS Receiver |
Fishing in Louisiana is no easy chore. Hundreds of square miles of ever changing coastline, Hurricanes and coastal Erosion make navigating the area a "best guess" proposition each and every time you put your boat into the water here.
If you're a smart person, you get help. Maps, charts and other navigational aids are great, but relying on just one form of navagational aid can (and will someday) get you in trouble. Believe me I've seen many a native Louisianaian stranded and run aground in the marsh. :-)
Therefore when I bought my new boat (FishMaster 1960 Bay with a Suzuki DF140 4 stroke. Email me if you'd like a review of the boat or motor, its the best I can offer until Epinions offers an "Add Product" feature for reviews.)I knew that some form and type of GPS was a necessity rather than an option.
After considerable research I choose the Garmin 168. It combined two products I would use into one easy to use, cost effective package. Most anglers will advise against using combo units because if it fails, you lose both capabilities. However, I fish in very shallow areas therefore the sounder itself was secondary to the GPS because they don't (few do anyway) work well at these depths and I carry charts and a handheld GPS as backup for the GPS (Garmin GSMAP 76S.. reviewed soon).
The unit I have is surface mounted with an internal antenna and was installed by the Boat dealer. It comes equipped with the mount, AC/PC adapter, transducer, cable and cover.
It's an attractive unit with easy to view waterproof buttons, screen, and case, internal backlighting, 12 Channel receiver, WAAS enabled, DGPS capable. For brevity in this review, you can view the full features at:
http://www.garmin.com/products/gpsmap168s/spec.html
The displays include 6 main pages, the Status page, Map Page, Sonar Page, Compass Page, Highway Page, and the Active Route Page.
The unit gives you 500 waypoint saving capability along with 20 saved routes with up to 30 points available for each route. This is probably more than enough for the average fisherman however if you are an avid Bass fisher or charter captain this may be a bit short.
The screens are easy to use and with a little study from the well written manual, are easy enough for anyone to master and use effectively. (If I did it you can too).
Navigating with routes and waypoints is accomplished using the NAV button and screens and allows you to actually follow a "highway" to your destination if you choose that option rather than a compass heading. This is much easier to use than it looks at first and is truly accurate and dependable.
I have to agree with others whom have said that Garmin's basemaps are lacking however, because I use it exclusively for fishing, I purchased the well done (but painfully expensive) Mapsource BlueCharts CD with region unlock and the Mapsource TOPO CD and these two sources give great detail for my area. What one lacks in detail, the other has and vice versa. However, be careful, the TOPO Mapsource is only a good source to about 2 miles offshore. If you do a lot of Offshore fishing in the Atlantic, Pacific, or Gulf of Mexico regions then select the BlueCharts or buy both. Connecting the unit to your PC is easy and the Mapsource products allow you to easily map routes and waypoints and save them to the unit.
One of the few downfalls of this unit is that there is only 2.5 megs of downloadable Map detail space available in the unit. This equates to about 50 to 75 square miles of area charts. If you travel great distance in your Marine endeavors such as sailing to other ports of call, you'll have to rely on the basemap or select another unit. For most area fishing, it will be adequate.
The sounder screen is easy to use and contains great detail and information. The units depth and sounder accuracy is excellent and will give good details from 2.5 feet to 1000 ft however I can only confirm down to 150 ft since that is the deepest water I have been on.
The screen is clear and detailed and easy to read with the exception of bright sunlight and glare. You will have to angle the unit as necessary to keep the glare down. The backlighting helps but is no cure. It is easily viewable in darkness, perhaps one of the best I've seen.
GPS accuracy in my area is excellent usually within 12-15 ft or so but this will fluctuate depending on Sat coverage in your personal area and if there is WAAS available.
All in all the 168 is a great unit. It is easy to use, dependable and quite cost effective. (Probably 450-550 bucks depending on where you buy it). Yes, there are better combo units out there but those units also cost more for the most part and the ones that don't did not have the features and capabilities I needed when I researched them. Just remember to search for a unit that suits your taste and budget and keep in mind that reliability and safety is the true issue at hand.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
nursgnt
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Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
A nice guy with a semi-sharp mind who enjoys quality goodies for fair prices.
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